Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (Means You're Grand)
by chimingofthebells
Summary: Arthur has something planned for his and Merlin's first Valentine's day together, and it involves a photo booth. Early Valentine's day fluff!


**AN: This is shameless fluffy tooth-rotting schmoop. There's no way around it. Got the idea from a Save The Date my parents have posted on the refrigerator and thought hey, there's an idea! The title is from the song "Bei mir bist du schön" by the Andrew Sisters. If you want to listen to it I recommend this version watch?v=LNcbdeMPvOQ. Enjoy! **

* * *

The windows were covered in hearts, flowers and candies were on display, and every shop was covered in pink balloons. It was Valentine's day in the mall.

Arthur and Merlin walked among all the other couples spending their Valentine's day in the mall.

"It was a good movie," Arthur said, "But I think I would have appreciated it better if we'd seen it some other day."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "It's tradition to make out in a movie theater on Valentine's day," he said.

"Since when?"

"Since forever."

Arthur laughed and reached out to take Merlin's hand. "You sure we didn't distract anyone else?"

"Nobody else was watching the movie either," Merlin said, lacing his fingers through Arthur's.

Arthur made a noise like he agreed, and they continued to walk, laughing at all the cheesy romantic shop decorations. Arthur kept

"Ready to go home?" Merlin suggested after a while, "I've got a nice warm bed at home…"

"Oh yeah," Arthur said, grinning, "But there's one thing I want to do first."

"What's that?"

"Just wait and see," Arthur said, and dragged Merlin down the hall.

Merlin laughed when he saw where they were headed. "A photo booth?"

"You know you've always wanted to do it," Arthur said, "Plus it's our first Valentine's day together, let's document it."

"You're a sap," Merlin shook his head, but stepped inside the tiny space anyway.

"You have no idea," Arthur said. He drew the curtain closed behind them and inserted the coins. "I need you to close your eyes."

Merlin raised his eyebrows. "What for?"

"You'll see," Arthur said, reaching into his jacket and withdrawing four squares of paper.

"What are those?" Merlin asked.

"You'll find out," Arthur said, "Now close your eyes."

Merlin looked at Arthur suspiciously, but closed his eyes all the same. There wasn't much space in the compartment, so he felt Arthur shifting beside him.

"What are you doing?"

"Just checking something," Arthur replied, "Alright, taking the pictures. Keep your eyes closed. Ready?"

Merlin nodded, wondering what on earth he would find when Arthur allowed him to open his eyes again.

Merlin smiled as he felt Arthur's lips press high against his cheek. Arthur held his lips there as there was the sound of the first picture being taken.

Before the second picture was taken, Arthur shifted his kiss to Merlin's temple. In the split second that followed, Merlin heard something that sounded like a piece of paper hit the floor.

The second picture took, and Arthur's kiss moved back down to Merlin's cheek. Another paper hit the floor. Merlin's curiosity grew, but he smiled like a fool anyway as he leaned into Arthur's kiss.

What the hell… Merlin thought as the third picture took and another paper fell.

Finally Arthur brought his lips to Merlin's, and they kissed each other soundly as the fourth and final picture took.

They kissed even after the picture was taken, and it wasn't for another minute that Merlin drew back.

"Can I open my eyes now, sire?"

"Hang on, be patient," Arthur said, rummaging around in the booth, "Okay, now you can."

Merlin lifted his eyelids, half expecting Arthur to have drawn something on his face, but all he saw was Arthur tucking the pieces of paper back into his jacket. Just before they disappeared, Merlin thought he caught a glimpse of a backwards question mark.

"Ready? Let's go."

Arthur was the first one out of the booth, so it was him that snatched up the strip of film before Merlin could see them.

To Merlin's surprise, Arthur was blushing as he looked at the photos.

"How do they look?"

Arthur coughed. "See for yourself."

Merlin's curiosity was greater than ever as he took the photo strip from Arthur's hand and looked down at it.

The four photos were as Merlin expected: Arthur kissing Merlin's face in four different places, with Merlin's eyes closed but smiling all the same.

But there was something else that Merlin wasn't expecting. In each of the photos, Arthur was holding a piece of paper up to the camera, each one saying something different so that when read down the line of photos, they spelled out:

BE

MY

VALENTINE

?

Merlin stared at them for a full minute, then looked up. Arthur was watching him with a careful expression, like he was waiting for Merlin to laugh at him.

"What do you think?" Arthur asked, his blush evident in the tone of his voice.

It's corny, Merlin thought, and cheesy, and soppy, not at all Arthur's usual style.

"Is this you trying to be romantic?"

"Just something for Valentine's day," Arthur said, growing defensive now. "Look, it's dumb, it was Morgana's idea anyway-"

"Arthur!" Merlin laughed, and placed his arms around Arthur's neck, which shut him up quite nicely. Merlin planted a firm kiss on Arthur's lips. "It's the cheesiest thing anyone has ever done for me, but it's also the sweetest."

Arthur smiled. "So?"

"So?"

"What do you say?" Arthur pulled away and plucked the photo strip from Merlin's hands. "Answer the question, will you?"

Merlin shook his head fondly. "Of course I'll be your valentine, you dollop head."

He kissed Arthur and laced their fingers together.

"Home?"

"Home."

Together they walked away from the booth and out of the mall. Merlin smiled and squeezed, Arthur's hand in one hand and their photos in the other.

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**Thank you thank you for reading, and happy early Valentine's day! **


End file.
